Judge Not...or Not

This is one of those fraught topics I struggled with for many years until a little thought (that's about all I have left!) kinda cleared up for me. Here it is in a nutshell, from the viewpoint of a nonbeliever.

If you judge, you will be judged by the standards you define for judgement. Here's how Jesus put it.

Matthew 7:1-5 RSV
Revised Standard Version
biblegateway.com

Judging Others

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

This kinda takes all the fun out of judging! First off, you don't get to judge me until you take the plank out of your own eye. And if you do judge me, you will be judged by the standard you've set for me. This, it would seem, should put a firm cap on hypocrisy.

However, in this era of the world's history, the shame of hypocrisy has, seemingly, disappeared into the ferocious glare of self-righteousness and naked greed that pervades the public stage. For example, the loudest judges of "family values" find themselves buried in their own family issues, including but not limited to, closeted gays, furtive pedophiles, greedy-beyond-measure crooked politicians, serial polygamists, even beginning a new affair while the current spouse, literally, lies on their deathbed…for starters.

And when an objection to this blatant double standard is raised the "offender" simply points out that these objections are judgements of their "relationship with their God." You see they have asked for and gotten forgiveness even if that confession only occurs after they've been outed for their galactic hypocrisy and are still engaging in the behavior. It boggles the mind.

It leaves very little room to hold our public figures accountable to their own announced standards of ethical behavior!

On the other hand, here's the part of this process that is almost never promoted with anything like the energy behind passion of the "Thou shalt not judge" crowd. This is the part where we can observe another's behavior and compare it directly to their announced ethics and standards and then (wait for it!) judge them!

Because, in this passage at the end of chapter 7, Jesus points out that there actually are truth tellers and liars in our world! Quelle horreur! We simply have to look at the standards they espouse/preach/dictate and their actual behavior. It's pretty damned simple! Here we go.

True and False Prophets
¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (My bold type.)

Whoa! All we have to do is look at their behavior? 

We don't have to factor in their announced righteousness or their appeal to God's forgiveness. If they are not "bearing good fruit" they are ready for the burn pile. Can they sort out their lives and get back in the "good tree" category? The answer is yes! But this only happens in the absence of repeated "bad tree" behavior.

Here's how I sorted this all out. I don't have the right to judge someone's "relationship to God," or whether or not they are a "child of God."  (See previous posts here.) This truly is between them and their God but knowing what I learned about God's "mercy with active liars and cheats," I'm glad I don't have to live in their "believer" skins! What's true is that what they do, their actions and even their words, are absolutely open for judgement! Hypocrisy, while not being the dreaded "unpardonable sin," does open the "bad trees," those not living up to their announced morality, for continued judgement until the behavior stops.

 And, not only are we allowed to point out these diseased "trees," there is a requirement to do it. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have a responsibility to protect the innocent from "bad trees." Even if you're not a believer, it would behoove you, for your own sanity, to point out the the wolves wandering around in sheep's clothing, looking for an easy mark.